Known as the Doyen of Communication Science, Hıfzı Topuz will be hosted at the Near East University for a Panel on Communication

It was announced that a figure known as the doyen in the field of communication, Hıfzı Topuz, will be coming to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as the guest of Faculty of Communication of Near East University for a panel discussion.

According to the press release issued by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations of Near East University, now aged 95, Hıfzı Topuz pioneered the establishment of the first faculty of communication in Turkey. He will be attending the panel titled as “Education on communication from the past to the present” on Wednesday, 14th November 2018 and will be providing insights into the education on communication in Turkey and around the world.

It was announced that General Secretary of Communication Research Association which is the only establishment that is authorised by YÖK (Higher Education Board of Turkey) to give accreditation to education on communication in Turkey, Füsun Özbilgen, and Cyprus Turkish Journalists Association Chair Sami Özuslu will also be participating in the aforementioned panel. Furthermore, it was stated that Özbilgen will be providing information on accreditation procedures carried out for the standardization of the education on communication. On the other hand, Özuslu will be providing his evaluations on the performances of communication faculty graduates within the relative sector.

A Documentary will be recorded on the project of “Hıfzı Topuz and Communication”…
In addition to the above, it was pointed out that Hıfzı Topuz will be coming to the island as part of the project moderated by Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayça Demet Atay, titled as “Hıfzı Topuz and Communication”. Additionally, five videos will also be recorded while interviewing the academic members of Near East University. Subsequent to the recording of interviews with Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayça Demet Atay, Assist. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özejder, Assist. Prof. Dr. Naile Berberoğlu, Assist. Prof. Dr. Nuran Özeve; and academic member Ufuk Altunç, the 60 minute documentary summarising the interviews will be broadcasted on the internet. The Director of the Documentary will be Assist. Prof. Dr. Elnaz Naseh and Head of Near East TV Evren Manerya. Furthermore, within the framework of the project the interview scripts will be published as a book.

Who is Hıfzı Topuz?
Hıfzı Topuz was born in Istanbul in 1923. He graduated from the secondary school titled as “Galatasaray Lisesi”. He pursued his undergraduate study in Istanbul University Faculty of Law. Later, he completed his Master’s education in Strasburg University on International Law and Journalism. Subsequently, he completed his doctorate on journalism.

He worked as the News Editor of Akşam Newspaper during the years of 1947-58 and later as the Editor in Chief. He was one of the founding members of the Istanbul Journalists Union and also served as the Chair of the union for some time. In 1959-1983, he worked at the UNESCO General Directorate in Paris as the free news circulation chef. At the same time, he played a key role in the preparation of the report of New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) via the MacBride Commission. He also worked on projects on international journalist organisations on cooperation, ethics in journalism, education on journalism and the protection of journalists. He held educational seminars in African countries, India and the Philippines. Furthermore, he worked on projects to improve the local press in Africa.

He pioneered the establishment of the first communication faculty in Ankara University in 1962 and supported the establishment named as the ‘Press Academy’ at the time. He founded as is currently the Honorary President of the Communication Research Union. He wrote in many newspapers and magazines. He has taught press, radio and television history, international communication and political communication in the faculties of communication in Anadolu University, Galatasaray and Istanbul Universities.

Hıfzı Topuz has published 17 research books, which are utilised as primary resources in the field, alongside 13 autobiography books, 17 novels and a story book.